Garment closet construction



Aug. 3, 1954 GARMENT CLOSET CONSTRUCTION 0'; I BULOW 2,685,491

Filed March 27, 1955 I], I II -JNI-/ENTOR.

Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to closets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved closet designed to permit the utilization of the space in front of the closet wherein access is permitted to the entire contents of the closet through a centrally located, relatively narrow door.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a closet of the above type wherein all of the garments can be easily rolled into view to be easily removed and replaced, the use of ball bearings permitting finger tip rolling into place.

Gther objects of the present invention are to provide a closet construction bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, has a minimum number or" parts, is easy to use and efficient in operation.

For other objects and a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view, shown partly in section, of a closet embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken alon the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view taken along the line l& of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, in which similar reference numerals identifying corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown a closet, referred to collectively as it, and including a pair of side walls H and end walls l2 mounted upona floor I3.

Access to the closet is had by a door l lhingedly mounted in an opening at the center of one of sides ll.

Longitudinally spaced, transversely aligned clamps l5 are driven into the inner faces of each of the side walls ll along their shank portions [6. The clamps it are integrally formed with cylindrical enlargements ll having flat cut-out portions it. The cylindrical enlargements ll are provided with vertical bores it which slidably receive L-shaped members 2i! threaded at their lowermost end and secured by nuts H, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Elongated rails 22 of substantially L-shaped cross section are positioned with one side thereof intermediate enlarged portions A pair of rolling shelves, referred to collectively as 23, are mounted on rails 22 in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

Each shelf 23 includes a pair of longitudinally spaced shafts 24, each of which is telescopically received within a cylindrical sleeve 25, the relative disposition of shafts 24 and sleeves 25 bein controlled by a set screw 26. A second shaft 21 is fixedly mounted in suitable manner at th other end of sleeve 25, the outer ends of shafts 24 and 2? rotatably mounting rollers 28 having peripheral grooves receiving the upper edges of rails 22, substantially as illustrated.

Each pair of cooperating shafts 24, sleeves 2'5 and shafts 27 are connected by longitudinal braces 29 having threaded ends 30 screwed into the shafts 2t and 2?, as will be obvious. The shafts 24 and 21 are each provided with an upwardly extending leg 3! secured thereto in suitable manner, the upper ends of legs 3i cooperating with each other to support the tabular portion 32 by means of screws 33 (Fig. 5).

Permanent shelves 34 are secured to the ends l2 above the rolling shelves 23.

The rollers 28 are preferably provided with ball bearings 35.

Hangers 36 are supported on shafts 2-4 and sleeves 25 in the manner indicated.

The second pair of rails 22 are secured in suitabl manner across their horizontal portions to the floor is directly below the upper rails previously described. A second pair of rolling shelves 23' are likewise mounted on the bottom rails 22. It will be noted that when each rolling shelf 23 is in its endmost position, that the shelves will not extend beyond the space occupied by the door l4 and the opening thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the clothes hung on hangers 36, the shoes and other items supported on the lowermost rollers and shelves 23, and hats and other items supported on the uppermost roller shelves 23 will normally be invisible when the door It is opened. However, by reaching within the closet the ends of tabular portions 24 may be grasped with the fingers, permitting the rolling shelves 23 to be rolled into view within the door opening. Thus, access is had to contents of the interior volume of the entire closet through the limited opening of door i i. The lowermost shelves 23 may likewise be slid into view. Thus, a limited door it is provided which permits the remaining portion of side walls H to be confronted with chair 3'! and table 38 or other furniture, the utilization of this space having previously been prevented by I1 and the horizontal portion of member 20, two the sliding doors extending from end to end of such rails being provided, as shown in Fig. 2.

the closet.

By means of the telescopic construction of the shafts 24 and sleeves 25 the distance between the rollers 28 may be adjusted to the width of the particular closet, after the rails 22 have been secured to the side walls thereof. The fixed shelves 34 provide adequate space for dead storage. Thus, in a typical closet of 96 inches by 24 inches deep with 24 inches door, you can have 88 inches of hanging space. Also it will he noted that the closet Hi can be located between adjoining rooms, so that the entire interior thereof is accessible from either room, in which case a second door 1 3 would be provided on the otherside wall H While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of my invention, what is claimed is:

A closet having a relatively narrow central opening in one of the side walls thereof, transversely aligned, substantially horizontal track means secured to the inner face of the side walls of said closet and extending substantially from 4 end to end thereof, rolling shelf means supported on said track means at each end of said closet and normally displaced from said central opening, and a plurality of hangers suspended from said rolling shelf means whereby to permit clothing carried thereon to be rolled into View within said central opening and to permit the outer faces of the wide wall to the closet adjacent said central opening to be utilized for furniture or the like, said rolling shelf means comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced, telescopic shafts, means for locking the said telescopic shafts at a plurality of lengths whereby to accommodate the same to closets of varying width, rollers mounted on the ends of said shafts and adapted to ride said track means, said hangers being supported on said telescop ic shafts, and a tabular portion fixedly mounted above said telescopic shafts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,477,660 Monroe Dec. 18, 1923 2,278,021 Reich Mar. 31, 1942 

